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Amid all the pomp and circumstance and sound and fury of the first debate between a card carrying member of the .01% and their most effective lap dog since Clinton, some things were not discussed.
The solution to unemployment – taking back the $7.7 trillion given to the rich and using it in massive, union organized efforts to green industry, agriculture and the infrastructure.
The needs of working people, which include non-interference with union organizing, socialized medicine, 30 hours work for 40 hours pay, interest free housing and auto loans. month long paid annual vacations and yearlong paid parental leave to care for newborns and wages and benefits at high trade union levels for workers, retired workers and student workers.
A law making it a capital crime to lie to the American people in order to start or continue wars of aggression aimed at making the world safe for big business.
A date certain when Brad Manning will be freed and compensated for being tortured.
Vote socialist, write in Brad Manning, or sit it out. We don’t have a horse in this race.
22 Comments
And end the factory approach to education (make them ‘palaces’); cancel student debt, and make state colleges tution-free.
Rec’d, Bill Purdue, but I think many of us still have plenty of fight left in us, and more will have soon, as they are forced to end their apathetic slumber, pretending that they don’t notice what dangers we face.
Oops. I forgot free education all the way.
The depression and it’s attendent radicalizaiton are sweeping away the cobwebs. When enough working people get angry and begin to move we’ll have a pre-revolutionary situation. We have to build the left to prepare for it becasue things can move with blinding speed and if they move with out the left playing a leading role all bets are off.
If you mean extreme privation can open the door to demagogues, I absolutely agree. But in my heart and mind, I still allow that we can also agree with many on the right who share the same values, but have come to disdain some of the attached verbiage. Left-right may not be as clear in the days to come, but I know that’s a very unpopular opinion here. ;o)
We are in the situation Naomi Klein described in Shock Doctrine. We are numbed and don’t know what to do next, at least I sure don’t. We will be easy prey to people who seem to know what to do and those ideas that are ‘just lying around’.
Thank you for posting this, and totally agree. The big elephants in the room were not discussed. Obama didn’t mention to Rmoney that there was no need for the Republicans to start their policy of building up the military – the Obama Administration has totally allowed for the ability of 57% of every dollar spent by the Federal Government to go to the military.
In fact, after Geithner refused the 20 billion dollars in loans to the people of California, summer 2010, over the next 13 months, some two hundred and fifty billions of dollars went to the military. After all, the military needs to be modernized. After all, we need as a nation to offer up military hardware to the UAE states and to Israel. And never mind that our military costs more than the military of the next 23 nations combined!
Imagine where the country would be if Geithner/Bernnake cared about the real people of this nation, and gave that money to the states with record high deficits.
Thanks for the excellent diary, Bill.
Couldn’t agree more, that “We don’t have a horse in this race.”
Agree with your list of concerns and needs of working folks.
Have also given a lot of thought to education reform. Hope that we’ll see the day that higher education will be fully federally subsidized, but doubt we’ll see it anytime soon.
Not sure that I agree with wd about a student debt jubilee. (I am in favor of a debt jubilee for huge/crippling medical expenses, and for the victims of fraudulent home mortgage loans.)
An exception, regarding student loans, would be if the loan is fraudulently issued, or approved. If economic demographics were much different, I’d want to include this type of debt. But considering that it’s a “given” that taxes will not be raised on the wealthy segment of our society, and that our most recent census findings show that “1 out of 2 Americans are Poor or Low-Income,” it’s a matter of economic justice that one-half of Americans should not be subjected to higher taxes. So, I simply don’t think that it would be feasible. [Again, if we could put a surtax on those making $250,000 per household, I'd have no problem with it. But even the Democratic Party (Sheldon Whitehouse and Pelosi) have seen to it that the income cap was raised to One Million Dollars per household income, on various other tax bills. And, a "millionaire's tax" to pay for a higher education debt jubilee would be near impossible to get through Congress, imo.]
It might be feasible to implement a very small surtax (1-2%) on all reported federal income, in order to fund subsidized higher education for all. I have no idea, however, if that amount of revenue would fully cover the cost. Any higher percentage than that, would likely put an undue burden on half the population. So, maybe a more progressive tax formula for an Education Surtax, could be looked at.
Recommended.
Blue
…X 2…I keep imagining…only thing that keeps me going these days…
If the choices are Obama and Romney then we don’t have a horse in this race, but there are alternatives like Stein, Anderson, and Alexander. Here is a transcript of the debate with Jill Stein and Rocky Anderson included. http://www.democracynow.org/seo/2012/10/4/expanding_the_debate_exclusive_third_party
This explains some of the reasons, but not all; not the best case, but I’m in a hurry. Many students were directed to their borrowers by colleges that got de facto kickbacks, as I remember it. (Not always the best bet.) Many debt burdens were sold to other servicers who proceeded to jack up the rates. A law was also passed that makes sure that bankruptcy (which is a huge deal) does not alleviate student loan debt.
And this is a wish list, none of it will happen until the time we make it happen, so…
Thank you; I’ll stick the link over yonder on my post, too. ;o)
One thing that is becoming abundantly clear, the only way to have the Dimocraps act on anything resembling leftist policies, or acting as opponents to the corporatist agenda is to leave them as a minority party. As the past few years have shown, when given power they pass the more egrigious aspects of corporatist policy (can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good), counting on the Brand D voters to defend them to the end with the dubious distinction of being LOTE.
Effort needs to be spent on building actual opposition parties rather than debating the minutiae as to which is the more palatable evil between UniPartyInc. brand D or R. Otherwise the delusion of difference in the current electoral charade will continue ad infinitum.
As for student debt, I’ve read studies that show the amount spent for a college education returns 7 times the amount spent to the economy. (Of course I don’t remember where so can’t provide a link) I would say that counts as an investment, not an opportunity for usury and control as presently constituted. The only thing real about a picture of a carrot hanging from a stick is the stick.
Thanks for the link to the TO piece, wd.
Maybe this is the answer: “The government of New Zealand now offers zero percent loans to students, with repayment to be made from their income after they graduate; and so does the government of Australia. The loans in the Australian Higher Education Loan Programme (or HELP) do not bear interest, but the government gets back more than it lends, because the principal is indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which goes up every year. They are contingent loans, payable only if or when the borrower’s income reaches a certain level.”
and,
“Assume, then, that the Fed bought up $1 trillion in U.S. student debt and waived the interest. With a default rate even as high as 10 percent, it would get back $900 billion of this money.”
[A Jubilee for Student Debt? by Ellen Brown, 10/20/11, Yes! online.]
Blue
Thanks Elise. Obama imposed austerity by busting unions, implementing his insurance company care scam (as opposed to health care) and by refusing to aid states and municipalities crippled by lower income.
He’s willing to do much more to impose austerity including further gutting Medicare/Medicaid and going after Social Security. His differences with the Republicans on these questions are cosmetic and will do nothing to stop the rightward trend dominant in both parties.
The union movement is heating up. The beginnings of a strike against Wal-Mart is just one example.
The left needs to ge involved in unions, supporting unions and building the union left and the Occupiers. That’s the first step in responding to the Depression. Later we can work on building workers parties and then on creating a workers government.
Hi Blue.
My comment was based on the following program, designed to be attractive and reasonable and one that will never be implemented by the .01%
It’s central messages are a cure for unemployment by allocating however many trillions it takes to green industry, agriculture and the infrastructure. The goal is to create a workers government that criminalizes private profiteering of the wealth created by manufacturing, distribution, transportation, banking and etc.
We need to fight for a political program to guarantee trade union levels of pay for every worker, trainee worker, unemployed worker and retired worker, with annual adjustments for inflation, based on a $35.00 an hour, 30 hours a week (paid at the rate of 40 hours), including immigrant and imported workers.
Guarantee decent housing, free education all the way, a minimum 30 day annual vacation, a year off at full pay for parents or adopted parents of each child, and adequate nutrition.
Guarantee socialized medicine and laws creating crash programs to deal with HIV/AIDS, breast and prostate cancer, malnutrition induced diabetes and the development of new therapies based on stem cell research.
Create laws to make it a crime punishable by death to attempt to involve the US, by the use of deceit, lies and misinformation, in wars to protect the profitability of corporations.
Guarantee that if privately owned businesses, agricultural enterprises and financial, insurance and medical corporation not able to sustain themselves without layoffs, wage cuts, price gouging and polluting that they’ll be immediately nationalized without compensation and run by a councils of workers and consumers.
Create laws to make it a crime punishable by life at hard labor without the possibility of parole to give, or to conspire to give public money or tax breaks to private corporations for any reason.
Create laws making it a crime punishable by life at hard labor without hope of parole to incite, conspires to incite or attempt to incite racist, homohating and anti-female violence.
Create laws the separation of cult and state by taxing cults at the same rate as other entertainment industry corporations and secularizing, without compensation, cult schools, medical facilities, colleges and universities to prevent child rape.
Yes, Ellen has saved North Dakota in so many ways, and is a veritable beacon for the future. You had indicated earlier, if memory serves, that you were a socialist; hence…my surprise at your objection.
Yes, this is a statistic about the post-WW2 GI Bill.
LINK
Thanks, nice to know some cognitive ability is still intact.
wd–
“Many students were directed to their borrowers by colleges that got de facto kickbacks, as I remember it. (Not always the best bet.) Many debt burdens were sold to other servicers who proceeded to jack up the rates.”
Actually, I agree, in the case of fraudulent or purposely misleading practices on the part of lending institutions (as you describe above), that student loan forgiveness should be granted.
According to Wikipedia, the 2005 “Bankruptcy Law” amends the previous law by amending it: “BAPCPA amended § 523(a)(8) to broaden the types of educational (“student”) loans that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy absent proof of “undue hardship.” The nature of the lender is no longer relevant. Thus, even loans from “for-profit” or “non-governmental” entities are not dischargeable. So, apparently student loans can still be discharged, with proof of undue hardship.
But, as to an across-the-board student loan jubilee, under our present system of government, I can’t imagine that this will happen in my lifetime. And, further, if it did, with the ultra-fiscal conservative “uniparty” system that we presently have, any attempts to do this would probably extract a great deal of pain on an equally vulnerable strata (or quintile) of our society. History tells us that the Uniparty is not going to raise taxes on the wealthy. (So, any student loan forgiveness would likely be offset by cuts to social services like food stamps, etc.)
More realistic, imo, is to advocate for, and work toward implementing education reform which includes “fully subsidized college or technical school tuition.”
Bear in mind, we haven’t seen nothin’ yet. Imagine what it will be like in 2014, when millions of working class folks who didn’t qualify for the “health exchange subsidy,” are forced to fork over hundreds of dollars a month, for their health insurance (or pay a tax penalty). Remember, subsidies cutoff for a “couple” at approximately $46,000 annual income. Add to this, the fact that Bowles-Simpson calls for draconian austerity measures which will likely be enacted by December of this year, or July of 2013.
I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but I can’t see movement in this direction, any time soon.
[It's just the tip of the iceberg, right now. I'm getting ready to post a diary about the changes to Medicaid Law (that Tennessee has already enacted) to deny skilled nursing care (i.e, nursing home care) by rejiggering decades old criterion to qualify under Medicaid regulations. Due to this change, many severely ill folks will either be left to their own devices, or their family members will be expected to care for them, even if they are unable to do so.]
Blue
Going to lasso this comment…goes/gets to the middle.
wd–
Let me add one thing. I’ve mentioned before that Tennessee won “first place” in O’s Race to the Top state competition (to privatize public schools). It was awarded in 2010. The TN state legislature passed their first “voucher” bill, the next spring. These vouchers can be used in religious schools (like the one that opened a month ago, in the church adjoining our property) without any supervision, or oversight.
Bottom line, if folks could start a movement to stop the privatization of our public schools, then some of the money that’s being doled out for privatization could be redirected to repair and upgrade our existing schools, and we’d have money to spare (or so I would think) to go toward “student loan forgiveness.”
I say this, because just one Race to the Top “pot” was 4.35 billion dollars. Tennessee’s first place win garnered it $501 million dollars (squandered, mostly, in my opinion).
Anyway, this may be the avenue that folks should pursue.
Blue
marym–
Thanks for the link. I am a strong supporter of the GI Bill. We’ve benefited greatly from higher education, so I hope that it doesn’t sound as though I’m anti-education. Hopefully, my last comments clarify where I’m coming from.
I’m sure you know that Bowles-Simpson’s austerity measures will greatly increase taxes on lower- and middle-class Americans, when it’s passed. That’s one reason that I’m always running around with my “hair on fire” about B-S. B-S will “broaden the base,” and tax folks who can barely get by now, so that tax “rates” can be dropped for the wealthiest Americans and corporations.
Just had the conservative church next to us, sink a small fortune into building a “charter school” which opened this past August. TN wrote the legislation so that schools (private, church or secular) have NO STATE SUPERVISION, WHATSOEVER (and no metrics, to be measured by). TN is granting over $5,000 per voucher (per school year), to attend these church (and other private) schools. They have also established a stringent “rating system” of teachers. This is a staunchly anti-union state, and voted in the early 1950s to become a “right-to-work” state (after Taft-Hartley was passed in 1947). Had a lot to do with why TN “won” the competition, I’m sure.
I think that grassroots education reform activists need to “fight back” the trend of privatization of our schools, taking the huge amounts of money being squandered now, and redirecting it toward actually restoring the public school system. I truly believe that this course would be much more productive, and free up a lot of the money already allocated (or misallocated), which in turn, could be directed toward student debt relief, or forgiveness.
Blue